Improvement in compressed-air water-elevators



n. c. CREGIE R. COMPRESSED-AIR WATER-ELEVATORS.

No. 195,800. Patented Oct.2,1877

- WITNESSES- PETERS. FilmLi'IHOGRAFHER, WASHINGTON, D C.

DEWITT G. OREGIER, OF CHICAGO,

'MCALPINE EOR-EGIER, OF SAME PLACE.

'r CFFIGE.

ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO WILLIAM Specification formingipart of Letters Patcnt NO. 1955800, dated October 2, 1877 application filed August 10, 1877.

:Totzll whom it maytoacern Be it known that l, Dnwrr'r OJOREerEng of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have inventedcertain new and use-' -ful Improvements in Pumping-Engines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to which itap-l pertains to make ancl'use the same, reference; being had to the accompanying drawing, and, to the letters of reference marked thereon which form a part-of this specification.

-Saiddrawing is a side elevation, partly in; section, of a pumping-engine having my im-f iprovements.

In raising water'under a head by=means of "any of the ordinary pumps, there is usuallyE produced a concussion or shock, of 'more or less severity, to the machinery to which said; pumps are attached. This shock is mainlydue to the opening and closing of the valves@ at the moment of the reversal of the motion of the pump piston, bucket, or phmger, as

well as of the two last named combined. Said pistons, buckets, or phmgers, upon their de-j scent, impinge uponasolid bodyof water or other non-elastic fluid, producing a shock connections, bearings, and other partsof the pumping-engine, thus producing undue friction and damaging wear, and increasing the. liability of the parts to fracture.

In the operation of a steam-piston this shock is guarded against by the retention or admission of steam to act as a cushion. The object of my invention is to provide in a pump an agency which shall act in the same manner in the relief of shock that steam does in the cylinder of an engine-a provision especially desirable in the class of large pumping-engines employed for supplying cities and towns with water.

The apparatus which I employ may be used with advantage in pumps of any class, including single or double" acting, whether piston, plunger, or bucket, or the two last combined, or whether said pumps are force or lift, set vertical, horizontal, or inclined.

The nature of my invention consists in the combination, with a waterpumping engine, of

a condensing air-pump connected with said engine by the necessary pipes, valves, and air chamber or chambers, for the introduction of compressed air into the pump at any desired point in the stroke, for the purpose of supplying an air-cushion to receive the impact of the piston, and thus relieve the shocks to which pumpingengines are ordinarily subjected, all substantially as hereinafter more .particularly set forth.

In the drawings, A marks a pump of the bucket and plunger variety, set in a wet well, W, and surrounded by water. The pump is fitted with a bucket, B, plunger 0, induction and eduction valves (1 d, and a nozzle, E, connecting with the air-vessel F.

G is a nozzle leading to a reservoir or standpipe, or direct to the distribution-pipes ot' a city.

Dis the base of the pump, provided with suitable openings, through which water or other fluid is drawn.

L is an ordinary compression air pump, driven in any convenient manner.

P 'is a pipe leading from the air-pump to a check-valve, n, and thence to the bottom of receiver or air-reservoir I.

Pipes J S H H T conduct air from receiver I to air-vessel F, to pump A, and to base 1). These pipes are provided with check and stop valves, whereby the volume of air passing to the pump may be controlled at pleasure.

The air-pump should be kept from heating by a small jet of water, and should be so proportioned as to deliver into reservoir I the required volume of air under any pressure above that of the atmosphere. It should, indeed, have a capacity suflicient to supply the necessary quantity of air under a pressure a trifle in excess of that due to the head of water under which the main water-pump is working, or, in other words, slightly in excess of the pressure maintained in air-vessel F.

The object of the receiver is to retain alarge surplus vohune of air at the required pressure, so that the main pump may be fully supplied at each induction-stroke without exhausting the air, and without the too rapid or irregular action of air-pump L.

The operation is as follows: The air-pump L being started, air flows into receiver I until the desired pressure (indicated by the gage I1) is reached. Valves I) and a are opened sufiiciently to permit the proper volume of compressed air to pass through check-valve K to main pump A at a point between the induction and eduction valves 01 (I. If preferred, a portion of the compressed air may be admitted below the induction-valves through branch pipe T and check-valve X- I am aware that air-pumps are sometimes used to force air into the main air-vessel of a water-pumpin g en ginc for the purpose of keeping it fully supplied therewith. This operation I do not claim except when said main airvessel is used as a reservoir for the purpose herein indicated as a substitute for receiver I.

I am also aware that air is sometimes admitted to water-pumps when in operation under the force of the partial vacuum which may be formed in said pumps. I have never known highly-compressed air to be forced into pumps while in operation in the manner and for the purpose herein shown and described.

Pumps are sometimes submerged in water. In such cases the induction-valves are located at more or less depth below the surface; or, when pumps are not submerged, their induction-valves may be far below the surface of the water flowing to said pumps. In either case there will be but a partial vacuum formed in the pump, it being vitiate-d in proportion to the pressure due to the height of the water above the induction-valve, because, at the moment of the opening of the induction-valve the water flows into the pump by force of gravity, and prevents the admission of sufiicient air to produce the effect desired.

By my invention the required quantity of air is forced into a pump undera pressm e greatly in excess of that produced by any vacuum that can be created, and also in excess of the press ure due to the height of water feeding the pump. Consequently said compressed air enters the pump in advance of the water, follow ing the course of the bucket or plunger on their induction-stroke. On the reversal of motion or return stroke the bucket, piston, or plunger impinges upon a volume of compressed air, formin g an elastic cushion, instead of upon a solid non-elastic body of water. This relieves the valves and all parts of the engine from the shock which would occur but for the presence of said air-cushion.

The admission of air under the inductionvalves, as shown by pipe T, is sometimes dosirable; but the best efl'ect is generally secured by admitting the air above the induction and under the eduction valves.

I am aware that the admission of air into a pump under any pressure during its inductionstroke diminishes its capacity in a slight degree; yet, by the use of my invention, in the manner and for the purpose described, the

loss in capacity is more than compensated by the greatly-increased velocity under which a bucket, plunger, or piston may be driven without producing any jar, shock, or concussion.

()ne air-pump and receiver provided with suitable valves may be made to serve a number of independent pumping-en ines if located within reasonable distance of each other.

I claim- 1. The combination, with a water-pumping engine, of an air-pump connected with said engine by the necessary pipes, valves, and air chamber or receiver, for the introduction of compressed air into the pump at any desired point in the stroke, for the purpose of supplying an air-cushion to receive the impact of the piston, and thus relieve the shocks to which the pumping-engine is ordinarily subjected, all substantially as specified.

2. The compression air-pump L, in combination with pipe P P, check-valve n, and receiver 1, all substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. The receiver I, in combination with pipe J, pipe H H, branch pipe T, stop-valves b a Y, and check-valves K and X, all substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own 1 hereto affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

DEWITT O. OREGIER.

Witnesses J. 1). (J. WHITNEY, B. F. CHASE. 

